Chapter 298: Chapter 259: Come Again
As a creator himself, Mr. Wen was very clear about what Yang Xiao feared, and after the ban, not only could the readers not participate in the scoring, but they also couldn’t give advice to the Writing Ghost through comments, which was killing two birds with one stone.
Qu Yi died because of a reader’s betrayal, and Yang Xiao would not follow in her footsteps.
Now, without the rating game, the contest could no longer continue, and besides, the keyboard and mouse were still in Yang Xiao’s hands, which was like grabbing the Writing Ghost by its vital spot.
At first, the Writing Ghost tried to coax Yang Xiao into handing over the keyboard, but Yang Xiao wouldn’t budge. To show his determination, he took off several keys from the keyboard, picking the ones with the most worn-out letters, because they were the most frequently used.
By the time he removed the fourth key, the Writing Ghost gave in. It begged Yang Xiao not to take off any more, admitting defeat and revealing the secret about the storage room to Yang Xiao.
"You talk first, you talk and then I’ll give you back the keyboard!" Yang Xiao was naturally cautious, and after all, how many people who wrote supernatural mysteries were normal? They were all full of schemes.
"What kind of person do you take me for? In front of the readers, I would not deceive you," Mr. Wen said sincerely, sitting on the sofa with a very earnest look on his face.
Yang Xiao knew he was telling the truth. To swear on the readers was already a sign of sincerity, so Yang Xiao first returned the keyboard to him, keeping only the mouse as a hostage.
"You can go to Miss Zuo Qiu’s home through the mirror in the storage room. To be precise, it’s a bedroom, but remember, you must not make any noise, and, whatever you do, don’t look into the eyes of the child on the bed," Mr. Wen warned, "or no one will be able to save you."
"Qu Yi also went through that mirror yesterday, she lost and went too, so why should I, having won, receive the same treatment as her?" Yang Xiao retorted.
"It’s not the same at all. Miss Qu didn’t know the correct way to enter the mirror, so the moment she went through, she was doomed. The thing hiding in that bedroom discovered her immediately," replied Mr. Wen calmly, with no trace of deception visible.
"Please elaborate," Yang Xiao requested.
"You need to back into the mirror slowly, with your back to it. That bedroom also has a large mirror, and you will emerge from that mirror. To leave, you also use that mirror, which can take you to any room in the apartment, as long as you have the permission of the respective tenant," Mr. Wen explained.
"Thank you," said Yang Xiao and returned the mouse as promised. Mr. Wen also moved aside to let Yang Xiao enter the storage room and brought a lamp for Yang Xiao to see better.
But just as Yang Xiao was ready and about to back into the mirror, Mr. Wen rushed in, flustered, holding the notebook, "Wait!"
"What now, are you going back on your word?" Yang Xiao immediately became vigilant.
"No, it’s that you’re in danger!" Mr. Wen exclaimed while shaking the notebook, "My notes have some ability to foresee the future, but it’s only limited to this apartment. Just now, a message about you appeared... it says you’re going to die."
"Let me see it," Yang Xiao said, unable to hide his anxiety.
But Mr. Wen put away the notebook, shaking his head apologetically at Yang Xiao, "Sorry, revealing such secrets is also bad for me. I can’t let you see it for free, unless... you and I have another contest."
"Another contest?"
"Yes, but this time, you can’t steal my keyboard," Mr. Wen swiftly added after some thought, "Nor the mouse, and you definitely can’t silence my readers!"
Just a moment ago, Mr. Wen had quickly reinstalled the mouse and keyboard and lifted the ban, explaining everything to all of his readers.
"Do you dare?"
Yang Xiao could see that Mr. Wen was planning to save face in front of his fellow book enthusiasts, which is why he was determined to go all out in another battle with him.
Moved by a sense of humanitarian concern, Yang Xiao kindly advised Mr. Wen, "Brother Wen, I won’t lie to you, you’re no match for me. How about this, I’ll apologize to you in front of all your book friends to help you regain face, what do you think?"
"No way!" Mr. Wen, full of integrity, argued with conviction: "I can’t deceive them. I have my dignity; I must earn it back myself. Moreover, I promise you, regardless of win or lose, I won’t make things difficult for you, how about that?"
"Why put yourself through this?" Yang Xiao shook his head and, with a bitter smile, agreed.
The third round, a battle staking Mr. Wen’s dignity, began, but as soon as an excited Mr. Wen took off his blindfold, the contest ended with his bemusement.
Yang Xiao took his hands off the keyboard, looking at Mr. Wen with pity in his eyes, while, by that time, the computer screen had already gone black, displaying a 404 error. Mr. Wen’s novel had disappeared, or more precisely, it had been forcefully taken down by the website.
The message box at the bottom of the screen was going wild, with Mr. Wen’s editor on the line, yelling at him if he was out of his mind, how he dared to have a sentence in the text that was sexually explicit, violent, and even politically dissenting—had he secretly been smoking opium?
Mr. Wen was stupefied, and then he collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face, "My book... it’s been banned, they’ve banned my book..."
"I’m sorry." Yang Xiao didn’t want to do this, but it was the fastest way he could think of to defeat Mr. Wen, and he was in a rush.
He had altered Mr. Wen’s novel, adding just a bit of erotic, violent, and politically dissenting content—just one sentence. Those diligent, ever-vigilant site moderators had banned the book at exactly midnight and immediately removed it from the site.
Yang Xiao had worried that Mr. Wen would become infuriated and disown him, but to his surprise, after a moment, Mr. Wen raised his hand and silently passed his notebook to Yang Xiao.
That familiar scene made Yang Xiao’s heart wrench as he saw the now-despairing Mr. Wen and felt as if he was looking at his former self.
"Don’t... don’t be like this, brother; it’s my fault," said Yang Xiao, a bit panicked, as he helped Mr. Wen onto the couch, "Look, what if I tell you a few stories, very exciting stories? You could find some inspiration and continue your writing. How about this, you can use my name as the main character, write it any way you want, okay?"
Mr. Wen looked up at Yang Xiao, "Very exciting stories?"
"Yes." Yang Xiao organized his thoughts and rapidly recounted several scripts he had once written, the ones that his theater friends had praised as especially good. He started with the Huang Family Mansion, followed by the Rainy Night Murderer, Xiao Shi Jian Village, the Great River Goddess, Lord Wanton, sharing everything with Mr. Wen without holding back.
Yang Xiao shared five stories in one breath, and Mr. Wen’s eyes, once filled with despair, gradually began to sparkle, even hastily taking a pen to jot down notes in his notebook.
"Good, good, good!" Once Yang Xiao finished the last story, Mr. Wen said ’good’ thrice, his excitement beyond containment as he paced back and forth in the room, "Amazing, truly a gift. How could you come up with such exciting stories!"
"I’m not at a loss. Losing to you is no shame, but one day I will surpass you. I have talent and enough dedication."
Seeing Mr. Wen recovering his spirits, the guilt in Yang Xiao’s heart began to fade. He stood up and said, "Good, I’ll wait for you. You can use my name for your stories; I look forward to witnessing the day your work succeeds."
As if suddenly remembering something, Mr. Wen opened his notebook, flipping to the page with only one line of writing. What truly captivated Yang Xiao was that this line was written in red, vibrant as though penned with fresh blood, and the jagged handwriting looked very strange.
"For those who disrespect the elderly, they shall be struck with a heavy fist."
Picking up the notebook, Mr. Wen showed Yang Xiao the line and solemnly advised, "Mr. Chu, this is your only chance."
